


Sniper's Gift

by FarJadeDragon



Series: BLU Team Adventures [2]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Fluff, Gift, Gift Giving, Implied/Referenced Character Death, OC mention, Open to criticism, Past Character Death, Sniper is grumpy, Spy’s POV, giant raccoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24155539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarJadeDragon/pseuds/FarJadeDragon
Summary: Sniper's performance has taken a nosedive recently, so Spy decides to get him  a gift, with some help of course.
Series: BLU Team Adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730344
Kudos: 11





	1. The Problem

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place a few days after New Face on the Gravel, so yea.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spy decides to get Sniper a gift, with a little help of course

I’m not used to...this sort of environment. Normally my job consists of sneaking around and blending in, taking out my target and leaving silently before anyone raises the alarm. in and out without a trace or a single noise...ideally.

This, dodging a maelstrom of bullets and rockets, is not what I’m used to. It’s… loud. Loud and fast-paced, complete with dying and respawning on the regular. Stealth is more difficult since the RED Team knows and expects me to be here, rather than it being a suprise. It doesn't help that the only person who could possibly teach me anything useful died a few days ago. From what the others have told me he was very good at his job. He seemed like a good man… at least, as good of a man as a spy could possibly be.

I ducked under a stray rocket from our own soldier (Can he even see from under his helmet??). I suppose I should be grateful my team is understanding. They don’t call me a failure or anything like that. They show as much patience as possible, especially Demo. It’s clear my inexperience is frustrating to them, and has cost us... more than a few victories, but they don’t actively berate me. They understand that I just need some time to adjust to this...it seems.

Sniper, on the other hand, has been here since the beginning. I haven’t known him very long, but he seems skilled in his job. He can hide in his nest and pick off any RED members that are giving the team trouble, or act as back-up for when Scout attempts to get the briefcase that has...something important in it. I haven’t figured out quite what it is yet.

Recently however, his performance has taken a massive nosedive. He’s missing more shots, dying more often than even I am, and seemingly just doesn’t care as much about his own safety or winning. The team is frustrated. They were already strained once they lost their old, far more skilled spy. But once Sniper’s performance fell, we started to lose more often. It used to be fairly split, but now the RED Team has a three-day streak going. It’s...embarrassing.

I understand though. He and the old Spy were friends, best friends. They had a connection that he doesn’t feel with the rest of the team it seems. Losing his friend, and watching him die in front of him is… awful. He’s probably having difficulties focusing (understandably). 

What’s worse is the team is blaming him for our losses. I’d argue it is both of our faults, but they do have a point. If we keep losing like this, our pay will be cut, which is bad. Despite knowing this, it doesn’t look like Sniper’s performance is getting any better. In fact, it might be getting worse as the days go on.

I need to fix this. After the battle, of course. Although, i’m not really sure what I can do. I don’t know him well enough to actually know how to help him. I suppose killing the RED Spy that is about to stab him would help his mood at least a little bit.

I fired my revolver, shooting the freshly de-cloaked RED Spy in the shoulder. I was aiming for his head, but that was close enough. He let out a cry of pain and stumbled backwards, dropping his knife. Sniper noticed him finally and finished the job with his Kukri, impaling the RED Spy’s torso. I gave him a thumbs up, hoping it would help him at least a little bit. He didn’t return it.He didn’t even smile.

We lost the battle again. I didn’t die as much this time around, but we still lost for the fourth time in a row. At least I'm improving, even if I spent the majority of the battle running from the RED Pyro and his canister of gasoline.

Everyone was disappointed by the time we went back to the base. Scout was the first to voice his annoyance.

“I can’t believe we lost again!” Scout said, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation.  
“Quit whinein’’” Sniper grumbled as he walked by. “Hey Spy.”

I greeted him back. He looked...absolutely exhausted, with bags under his eyes. He walked by with heavy steps, looking like he was about to pass out. The scar on his neck was mostly hidden by his shirt collar and vest, but it was still there, and still a reminder of our failure.

“Well I wound’t have to if somebody would actually do his stupid-” Scout was cut off by Sniper’s glare.

Sniper ignored him, pushing him aside roughly as he walked out to where his camper was. He slammed the door behind him.

“Asshole.” Scout muttered. “Why does he suck all of a sudden?!”  
“Failure... is a difficult rut to break out of.” I said.

Scout gave me a confused look. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and his face shifted from realization to a cringe.

“Oh! Oh…” He said. “Yea I almost forgot about that whole thing you guys did. That must’ve sucked.”

I nodded in response. I headed toward the kitchen, thinking. Scout followed, unexpectedly. Usually he would go play baseball or shoot cans with Sniper. I suppose he was hungry after the match as well.

“So what are we gonna do?” He asked. “We can’t keep losin’ like this!”  
“I’m… not sure.” I admitted. “I don’t know him well enough to really know how to help.”

Scout was silent for a moment. I fixed myself a sandwich. Well, it was really just a slice of deli ham and cheese, since the bread was gone already. Didn’t we just buy some yesterday? Oh well. I needed to wash these gloves anyway.

“We could take him drinkin’!” Scout chirped, looking excited. “There’s a bar somewhere around here! They serve this really cool rootbeer float with bear insteada root beer!”  
“Does he like going to bars?” I asked, genuinely curious.  
“Uh...No? He’s not really into that sorta thing.”  
“Oh. That won’t really help then.”  
“Aww…”

He sounded disappointed. I felt bad for him, but bringing Sniper to a noisy, crowded place full of people probably wouldn’t help his mood. Might make it worse actually. He doesn’t seem to like people all that much.

“Maybe we could get him a gift or somethin’?” Scout asked, shrugging his shoulders and making himself a double-open-faced sandwich.

I thought about it. A gift, at the very least, would be a kind gesture. If it is something he likes it will improve his mood, hopefully. Even if he doesn’t like it, he could always just use it for target practice or re-gift it to someone else. Worst case scenario is that the gift does nothing, and we can try something else.

“Yes...that could...help.” I said  
“Cool! What should we get ‘em?”

That I didn’t have an answer for. We could get him another rifle or kukri, but that seems far too impersonal, and may come across as...cold. It would seem like we just got him a gift so he would perform better, rather than out of care.

“I don’t know.” I said, still thinking. “I don’t know him well enough.”  
“I don’t either.” Scout said. “Man this is hard!”  
“We could ask the others?”  
“They barely know ‘em too! He’s not the most social guy.”

Scout had a point. I suppose we could look around at the nearby towns and see what they have to offer. There is a fairly large city not too far south from here. Problem was, I don’t have a vehicle, and I don’t think Sniper will let us use his.

“There’s a town to the south of here.” I said. “We could...just look for something that might catch his eye.”  
“Sounds like a plan!” Scout said, grinning.  
“I WOULD LIKE TO HELP!” Soldier yelled.

Soldier had walked into the kitchen, hearing the tail-end of our conversation. He stood in the doorway at attention, looking ready for a mission.

“No way man!” Scout said, using his half-eaten not-sandwich to point accusingly at Soldier. “You barely know ‘em too!”  
“I KNOW HIS NAME!” Soldier yelled.  
“Barely- wait you do?”  
“YES!”  
“...Ya gonna tell me?”  
“NO!”

They continued to bicker. I was going to agree with Scout. Soldier, much like the rest of the team, barely knows who Sniper is, despite working with him for nearly a decade. Plus Soldier is loud, reckless, and….loud. Having both him and Scout in the same car would be...too much for me.

And yet, Soldier was there. He knew what happened to the old spy, and from what I gathered, helped save me. I can’t just leave him out of this completely. He cares about his team-mates… cares enough to hang onto the bottom of a camper for hours on end. I can’t just leave him out of this… mission.

“Hold on Scout,” I said, sighing. “He might be helpful.”  
“See even the Spy thinks you’re a hot sack of- wait WHAT?!” Scout said, taking a bite out of his sandwich. ”Are ya kiddin’ me?!”  
“No.”

I finished my sandwich, then brushed the crumbs off of my gloves and face. Scout was looking at me like I was crazy, while Soldier was grinning.

“WE WILL FIND THE BEST GIFT!” Soldier yelled.  
“Yes, but it must be kept a surprise.” I said, trying to sush the both of them.  
“THE BEST SURPRISE GIFT!”  
“There’s no way we’re gonna find a gift with loudmouth over here!” Scout said, pointing at Soldier.  
“YES WE WILL MAGGOT!”

They continued to bicker some more. Hopefully they will be able to keep it a secret until tomorrow. I doubt it, given their volume, but some optimism never hurt.

We (Mainly me and Scout) eventually devised a sort of plan: We would borrow Engineer’s truck(I've asked him in advance. He said yes, as long as Soldier didn’t drive) and head down to the town south of us, and see what we could find. Simple, easy to execute, and had almost no chance of anyone else dying. Tomorrow was a Saturday, so there would be no battles. We would have plenty of time.

I headed back to my room. I thought about going to talk to Sniper since I be able to get some sort of information on what he may want, but I decided against it. I didn’t want to pester him.

I opened the door of my room. The room was still nearly empty, but I did buy a nice little hat stand to put my rain hat and suit on. It wasn’t much, but it did help the room feel a little less...barren. Unfortunately I haven’t changed the bed yet.

I took off my suit and tie and put it on the rack, leaving just my undershirt on. I debated on taking my mask off, but I decided not to. Not right now anyway.

Funnily enough, the old Spy had a small, private bathroom attached to the side of the room. I guess he had enough money to pay the contractor. If he was still alive I would thank him, since I was able to take my mask off without risking my identity being compromised. It also gave me some privacy while I was showering. Speaking of, I probably needed a shower.

I took off my mask, passing by the mirror on my way to the shower and catching a glance of my own face. I usually try to avoid this, but this time it was inevitable.

The scar on my face was still there. The mark went from above my left eyebrow to my chin, carving a jagged path through my face. Thankfully only about a third of it was visible when I had my mask on, so nobody saw how large it was. Anyone who saw it probably guessed it was from a knife or a small blade. I suppose I should be thankful I didn’t have to explain where I actually got it.

An all-too familiar feeling of dread crept its way to my throat. For a split second, I was back in those awful mines. Clauden was… somewhere, hunting me down like a shark. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

My hands were ice cold. Despite the warm air of the base, I was shaking like a leaf. I could still feel him dragging his claws across my face-

I shook my head, turning away from the mirror and taking a shaky, deep breath. No, It’s over. It’s… done and over with. He’s dead this time. I saw the body. He’s dead. I was… relatively safe here. Out of my element and terrible at my job, sure, but safe.

I showered quickly and headed to bed. The bed creaked like old bones, sending a shiver down my spine. I remembered to put my mask on at least, so if anyone breaks in at least they won’t see my face.

Tomorrow we get a gift for Sniper, one that will hopefully be enough to improve his mood. One that could hopefully bring him back to the team.


	2. An idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, sorry about marking it as complete the first time. I didn't mean too.

This may have been a mistake.

I, along with Soldier and Scout, were currently heading south towards a large town to the south. I, severely underestimating my patience, decided to take the two loudest and most stubborn individuals on team with me to said town.

“I’m tellen’ ya, his name ain’t ‘Mundy’ It’s Monday!” Scout said.  
“YOU ARE WRONG, MAGGOT!” Soldier yelled.

My ears are ringing. I was in the driver's seat, with Scout in the passenger’s (He called shotgun), and Soldier in the back. Scout was twisted around in his chair so he could yell effectively, while Solider was hanging onto the headrest of Scout’s chair. Both were currently having an argument about whether or not Sniper’s name was ‘Mundy’ or not. It was, and I had told them earlier, but Scout refuses to listen to me or Soldier.

I enjoy their company when they are separated, even Soldier has his… moments. But both of them together in the same room is starting to become... insufferable.

I sighed, focusing on the desert road ahead of me. I should have taken someone else. I had asked Engineer, but he was busy with his sentry blueprints. Medic was dealing with organs and I...don’t fully trust him. Demo was far too drunk to be of any help, and Sniper was obviously out. I had thought of asking Pyro, although I can’t understand a word they’re saying. Heavy… intimidates me, so Soldier and Scout were the only ones who were available. I had hoped that, since they’ve known Sniper longer than I have, they would be able to put their heads together and help me figure out a gift. Unfortunately, I was wrong. They were just as clueless as I was.

We were already halfway there however, so it was a bit late to change them out anyway. I wish they were a bit more willing to work together and not argue about which meat tastes the bes ton the grill.

“STEAKS!” Soldier yelled, hoping his volume would carry.  
“Hot Dogs!” Scout shouted.  
“HOT DOGS ARE JUST INFERIOR MEAT STUFFED INTO AN INTESTINE!”  
“Well yeah but they’re still delicious!”

Soldier had a point. Hotdogs are essentially just meat and other parts too disgusting to be sold as-is stuffed into a casing of intestine, but it was still annoying to hear him scream it. Thankfully we were ¾ of the way there. Just a bit longer. Maybe I can...change the subject? This is worse than the eight-hour drive in Sniper’s urine-scented van. At least I knew Sniper could actually keep quiet.

“What sort of gift should we get Sniper?” I shouted, trying to get my voice heard.

They both stopped their yelling and stared at me. They thought, with Soldier putting his hands on his chin and Scout reclining in the chair and putting his feet up on the dashboard.

“A GRILL!” Soldier suggested, breaking the silence with a grin

Maybe, although I don’t know if Sniper likes to cook. I do, but that’s beside the point. Besides, I don’t have enough room in Engineer's truck to haul a grill that was worth cooking on. Those tiny ones, while they make a great weapon in a pinch, don’t last long enough to be worth the price

“A scarf?” Scout asked nobody in particular.  
“We don't live anywhere cold.” I said.  
“We travel to cold places sometimes!”

I forgot about that. My contract had mentioned traveling to different bases, although it didn’t say how often or at what point. Thankfully I brought some warmer clothing.

“How often do we change bases?” I asked.  
“Every… year?” Scout said, shrugging. “It depends on how quickly we destroy the place we’re at. That turbine place only lasted a year because the tunnel kept collapsing and killing us.”

Makes sense. Fighting on a flat field of rubble would be… unfair for certain people. Mainly for snipers and spies. Not quite sure what “turbine place” he was talking about however.

I tapped my thumb on the steering wheel. A scarf would be an okay gift, but not really one that could improve his mood, since there’s no telling when he’ll actually need it. It could be never. A scarf would be useless. Maybe if it was a hand-made one it could be a bit more… personal… but I don’t know how to knit.

“WE CAN GET A RACCOON!” Soldier suggested.  
“No way are we gettn’ him a stupid raccoon!” Scout argued.  
“RACCOONS ARE THE BEST PET IN THE WORLD!”  
“No they ain’t! Not when ya feed ‘em all th’ bread!

I doubt Sniper would like a raccoon as a gift, but he might like a pet. Something easy to care for would be an okay gift. Maybe a cat? Does he like cats? I hope he isn’t allergic.

“How about a cat?” I asked, looking back briefly at Soldier.  
“‘COON!” Soldier yelled  
“Nobody wants ya rabies-infested raccoons, Soldier!” Scout argued back. “Although Sniper might like a cat. Or an alligator. Or a dog! We can get him a dog!”  
“A DOG WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE!”

I thought about it. Dogs tend to thrive in an environment where they have room to run around. They’re loyal, trainable, and very affectionate. They don’t tend to be picky eaters either. It could be a good choice. However, the area around the base is dangerous, and I’m not sure how the dog, or any animal would react to the dangers and noises of the base. I can barely adjust, and I’m being paid.

“...Maybe.” Was my only response.  
“YES!” Soldier yelled, excited.  
“WOO! We’re gettn’ a dog!” Scout said, grinning.

We'd have to pick up some dog food and a collar for the dog, and maybe a leash. Hopefully we can find one that is used to noise.

The town was up ahead, breaking the horizon. Hopefully the place had a shelter or pet shop. If not we’ll have to find something else for Sniper.


	3. The Mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spy, Soldier, and Scout head to the mall to get Sniper's gift. At least, to attempt to.

We eventually reached the town. It was a bit larger than it seemed once you got close to the outskirts, although it was still small. There were a few larger buildings, hardly skyscrapers, and a very large amount of smaller buildings and houses. Thankfully, there also seemed to be a lot of shops, so even if we can’t find a shelter for some reason, we’ll be able to find something else.

I drove through the town, ignoring Scout and Soldier’s bickering about… something, and eventually spotted a small mall. Perhaps there could be a shelter here?

I stepped out, closing the driver door gently. Scout stepped out as well, although we both had to help Soldier out since the back doors didn’t open. Engie told me the reasoning (something about the joints), but I wasn’t paying as much attention to what he was saying as I should have.

Walking inside, I was more than slightly disappointed. The mall itself was more of a glorified warehouse segmented by cheap walls and particle board doors. The floor was made of over-waxed pine wood and the entire place was lit by fluorescent lights. Thankfully, all of the shops had signs sticking out into the walkway,

“So ya think this’ll hava pet shop or somethn’?“ Scout asked, not looking very confident. “ ‘Cause if not-“

“WE ARE GOING TO FIND THE BEST DOG!” Soldier said, running inside.

“Ay Soldier, wait up!”

Scout ran after Soldier, pushing a few other customers out of the way. Soon the duo were out of sight. Personally I wasn’t in that big of a rush, so I just followed them at my normal walking place, carefully observing the shops around us in case anything spotted my eye. Hopefully they don’t cause too much damage.

I walked past an accessory store. Normally I don’t really like shopping, but there was a nice looking hat in there…

I went inside, passing by coats and other things on hangers and walked straight to a hat. It was a basic yellow porkpie hat, made of some sort of felt-like material. I put it on my head with a grin. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad of a hat. A little bit too brightly colored, but it still had a quaint charm too. It sort of reminded me of the rain hat I had back at the base. It was a little too big for my head though, so I probably won’t buy it.

I could feel someone’s eyes watching me. I turned, half expecting there to be some sort of danger, but it was just Soldier staring through the window of the shop. I quickly took the hat off, half out of embarrassment and half out of surprise. He was still for a minute, staring at me (Probably trying to process what he had seen) with mild surprise, then tried to grab my attention, pounding on the window and grinning.

“SPY! WE HAVE FOUND THE BEST DOG!” Soldier shouted, startling the other customers, as well as the employees of the shop.

“Coming!” I yelled back, putting the hat back onto its rack and walking out of the door.

Once I was out, Soldier immediately grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the mall. I had to fight the urge to break his elbow. He half-dragged me towards the end of the mall, going through one of the employees-only doors.

“This isn’t the pet store…” I said, glancing around.  
“WE STILL FOUND THE BEST DOG!” Soldier yelled, grinning.

Through the metal door was what looked like a storage area for extra goods, although the shelves were lined with scraps of metal and garbage.

There were also large oil barrels on the ends of some of the lanes. I tried to read what they were, but Soldier was tugging me too quickly for me to read.

This area was poorly maintained, worse than the actual mall itself, and lined with spider webs and dust. I’ll admit it was slightly unsettling, not because we were where we shouldn’t be, but because of how quiet it was. There were no employees, and it looked like there hadn’t been any here in awhile, if the dust is anything to go by. It was a fairly large area though. Perhaps the building used to be something else before they repurposed it? Still didn’t explain why there were all of these parts here. Also didn’t explain what was in the barrels.

Taking a closer look at the shelves, they looked like they used machine parts. I couldn’t identify exactly where they were from, since the majority of them were warped and broken. It may just be a scrap shop that somebody closed. This seems like the sort of mall that would have that. Although…

“WE ARE HERE!” Soldier yelled, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked around. This place didn’t look like any sort of pet store. It didn’t even look like a back-alley “pet store” where you bought baby tigers. 

“We… are?” I asked.

Scout walked up to me, holding a burlap sack. He was holding the opening closed with one hand. Whatever was inside seemed… upset, judging from how it was whimpering.

“Um… “ I said, confused. “That doesn’t sound-”

“I helped Soldier catch it!” Scout said, opening the sack.

Inside there was a raccoon. Just a normal sized raccoon. Oddly, It’s eyes were closed tightly, and it seemed more helpless than racoons typically are.

“This isn’t a… dog.” I said, staring at the racoon in confusion.

“Yea I know but Soldier wanted to catch it anyway.” Scout grumbled. “Didn’t even help me catch it.”

“I HELPED YOU CORNER IT!” Soldier yelled.

“It doesn’t even move all that much!” Scout shouted back. ”It just curls up and keeps squeekn’ like a chew toy!”

It didn’t move much? Normally racoons react rather violently to being cornered. I took a closer look. It’s fur was softer than a normal raccoon’s, and the normally black stripes were a light brown. Other than that though, it seemed normal. So why was I getting a sinking feeling?

“I WILL NAME IT PRIVATE TOOTH!” Soldier said proudly, cradling the bag in the crook of his arm.

The racoon let out a squeak. Scout was still complaining while Soldier seemed overjoyed to have added to his collection of racoons. I was starting to get a bit exasperated. We were running out of time, and the closest thing we’ve found as a gift for Sniper is a strangely-colored racoon.

“That is not a dog, or a cat, or even… anything that would usually be kept as a pet.” I said, sighing. 

“Yea I told him that but he wouldn’t listen!” Scout said, crossing his arms.

“PRIVATE TOOTH IS AN EXCELLENT PET!” Soldier yelled.

“I mean… Snipes is Australian so maybe he would- “ Scout said, trying to just get this over with.

“Soldier just…” I sighed. “It takes a lot of work to raise a raccoon, yes?”

Scout looked over at me with a confused look.

“AFFIRMATIVE!” Soldier said, nodding enthusiastically.

“I don’t think it would be reasonable to force Sniper to take care of such a… temperamental animal.”

Soldier was about to retort, but then paused. He thought for a moment, staring at me from underneath his helmet. He slowly lowered the bag to the ground, and the racoon scurried off into the darkness. He looked a bit sad to see it go.

“LET”S GO FIND SNIPER A DOG!” Soldier yelled, with regained vigor.

“Yes!” I said as enthusiastically as I could manage.

Soldier marched ahead, with me and Scout following closely behind him. Scout looked confused, staring between me and Soldier with a quizzical expression.

“So how’d ya do that?” Scout whispered.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Get ‘em to listen? He never listens to anybody!” Scout said, annoyed. “He rarely listens to Miss Pauling!”

“Well...he has racoons, so naturally he would understand the sort of work that you need for them… “

“Uh-huh.”

“So I just used that to convince him. You have to use his own logic to convince him to do something.”

Scout still looked a bit confused. Realization hit him.

“Ooooohhhh that’s how ya-” Scout was cut off by a can falling to the ground.

“Yes.” I said, glancing behind myself.

Something wasn’t quite right. I stopped in my tracks, straining my ears and eyes. Scout stopped too, looking into the darkness with confusion. Soldier stopped once he realized we weren’t following him anymore.

“What?” Scout said. “Did ya-”

“Shhh... “ I said, still listening.

The heavy footsteps were the first thing I heard. My mind went first to Clauden, but I quickly moved past that possibility (He’s dead after all, from what Sniper told me). My second guess was a robot, but that didn’t seem likely. It didn’t sound like a metallic scraping, and there were no other sounds associated with machinery could be heard. It was just a soft scraping noise accompanied by heavy, slow footsteps.

“You two didn’t happen to bring your weapons did you?” I said, pulling out my revolver.

“AFFIRMATIVE!” Soldier yelled, pulling out his shovel that he had somehow managed to hide in his shirt.

“Uh, yea!” Scout said, pulling out his scattergun, looking more than a tad nervous.

We waited in silence. Two glowing eyes peered at us from the depths of the room. A deep growl followed. With a loud thud, an enormous racoon the size of a small elephant stepped out from the shadows, glaring at us. It had the same brown stripes of the racoon from earlier. It must be the mother.

“...that is a big racoon.” I said, debating on whether or not I should shoot at it.

“No, duh!” Scout said, stepping back into me. “Thing’s huge!”

“... Should we run?”

“That would be the… wise decision.”

I took a step back, as did Scout. I tried to ease my way to the exit, which was right there. Eventually, I managed to get a hold of the handle, open the door, and pull Scout with me to the other side. We were safe.

“So that’s why they closed it off!” Scout said. “ ‘Cause of the giant racoon!”

“Yes.” I said. “That is a reasonable explanation to cut off such a large area of the st- wait where’s Soldier?”

We looked around. Soldier wasn’t in the area, so either he ran off to complete our mission or-

“YOU WILL BE MINE!” Soldier yelled from the other side of the door. “AND YOU WILL BE CALLED GENERAL GRAVY!”

“Is… is he still in there?” Scout asked.

“Yes.” I said, slightly irritated at both myself and Soldier. How did I not notice he wasn’t with us?

“Should we just leave ‘em?”

“No.”

Scout sighed. I didn’t really want to go back in there either, but we’re far outside of the respawn range, and Soldier only has his shovel. There’s no way he’d be able to fight it off without help-

A loud crashing noise from the other side of the door interrupted my thoughts. I couldn’t tell if it was a good sign or not. I’ll guess it is not a good sign. At least Soldier was still alive, given his shouting.

I opened the door, half-bracing myself to find Soldier injured. Soldier was currently pinned to the floor, fighting off the giant racoon by using his shovel to smack it in the face repeatedly. I fired, hitting it in the eye.

The racoon recoiled, hissing loudly and stepping backwards. Soldier got back onto his feet and got into a fighting position.

“GENERAL GRAVY YOU ARE BEING-”   
“C’mon man let’s GO!” Scout said, irritated.

Soldier was cut off by Scout shoving him through the door. I fired another shot at the raccoon, aiming for it’s forehead. I missed, hitting its tail instead. It lunged at me.

“C’mon Spy!” Scout yelled.

Scout was holding the door open for me while simultaneously trying to keep Soldier from clawing his way back into the room. His shouting had called attention to the raccoon, who turned and growled.

“Uh-oh.” Scout said. 

The raccoon bared its teeth, hissing. It lunged with a feral ferocity at him and Soldier.

“Fuckfuckfuck-!”

Scout looked at me. For a split second I could see him panicking, He didn’t have much time. He shouted a quick “sorry” and closed the door. The racoon ended up crashing into the door and denting the wall it was embedded in. The raccoon stumbled back, dazed and possibly concussed.

“Soldier help me open the door!” Scout yelled from the other side.

“PUSHING!” Soldier yelled.

“It’s pointless! Stupid thing won’t open! It’s stuck!”

Judging from the sudden, sharp bang from the other side, one of them had tried shooting the lock on the door, not that that would help, given the door’s condition.

“Well that didn’t work.” Scout grumbled. “Don’t worry Spy we’ll get you outta there!”

“WE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU BEHIND!” Soldier yelled, pounding at the door.

At least they care? At any rate, it will take them some time to open the door. The raccoon was beginning to recover from being concussed. I need to think fast.

Before it could turn around fully, I cloaked, slipping away slowly and silently. It seemed confused when it managed to process I wasn’t there anymore. It’s ears perked up, twisting around to try and find where I was. It sniffed the air, then growled, walking around as silently as it could.

I shifted to avoid bumping into it as It walked by, still sniffing and shuffling around. I decided to climb up one of the shelves, using my gloves to climb the metal bars holding the shelves together. On the top I crawled around, not trusting my balance up here. I found one of the barrels I saw earlier, although this one was empty. It had a sort of triangular symbol with crescents sticking out of the points. I read the faded word below the symbol. It read “RADIOACTIVE.”

I crawled a few feet away from the barrel in shock. I don’t know if all of the barrels had radioactive material in them, but it was clear that they at least used too. I looked down. There were at least a dozen of them in the room, some of them closed, some open and empty. It explained why there was a giant, mutant Raccoon roaming around here. Wonder how radioactive everything is. I wonder why Scout or Soldier didn’t tell me about this when he dragged me here. Do they not know how to read? Maybe they just didn’t pay attention.

I’ll ask them later. For now I had to get out of here before I got radiation poisoning. Or eaten.

I looked down. The racoon was still sniffing for me, although it didn’t seem nearly as determined to find me now. I took a step back, trying to ease my way to the door to see If I could get it open somehow. I heard a loud clunk.

A can I had kicked with my heel fell to the floor beside the beast. I winced and quickly cloaked again. The racoon flinched and whirled around, staring at the can. It looked up, figuring out the origin of the can rather quickly and started hissing. It backed up a bit, crouching. What was it-

The raccoon slammed it’s entire body into the shelf I was on, nearly knocking it over. Thankfully the amount of scraps I had on the lower shelves kept it somewhat steady. It tried again, making the whole thing shudder, and knocking a few poorly secured pieces off. My cloak disengaged.

The raccoon looked up, and we locked eyes. It jumped up, clinging to the cheap wooden shelving and the rusty metal. It scaled the shelves, growling at me. I scrambled to get away, weaving around bits of scrap that blocked my way. I jumped across the aisle to another shelf, nearly losing my footing in the process. Stirred up dust made my eyes watered as I climbed up to the top shelf, standing up to see where the beast was.

The racoon was on the top of the other shelf, snarling at me and crouching down. It pinned it’s ears back and let out a growl of effort as it leaped off of the shelf and towards me.

For a split second, I stood frozen. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere, that is, except for up. Thinking quickly, I jumped up, using my gloves to stick to the ceiling and pull myself up. The beast’s claws missed me by inches, landing on and toppling over the shelf I was on. A chain reaction was triggered, as the one shelf knocked over the one next to it, and then the next, and then the next. The entire row of shelves had fallen over like dominos, with some shattering upon impact with the ground. As for the racoon It disappeared into a cloud of dust and debris below.

I took a deep breath of relief, interrupted by me accidentally inhaling dust. I coughed, then regained my composure quickly. Perhaps this distraction will buy me enough time to find a way out. 

Looking down, I could see the dust below had settled, leaving a livid-looking racoon sitting among the rubble. It glared at me with it’s piercing eyes, snarling. It wasn't too pleased with this turn of events at all. 

Suddenly, it stopped growling. Instead it stared at me, then the ground, and then back up at me. It lifted up a chunk of one of the demolished shelves, baring its teeth with newfound determination.

I really don’t like where this was going.

With terrifying speed, the racon flung the shard of metal at me. I quickly moved my hand to avoid the scrap javelin from making me lose an arm. The shard of metal lodged itself into the ceiling. The racoon snarled, irritated that it missed.

Using the grip pads on the tips of my glove’s finger-tips and the toes of my shoes, I crawled across the ceiling, looking down (Up?) frequently to avoid scraps being thrown my direction. For an animal, it had impressive aim.

No longer satisfied with the bits and pieces, it picked up a larger chunk of the shelf and threw it, missing me by mear inches. The chunk splintered in front of me, and I backed up.

The racoon hissed, looking around. There weren’t many other things It could throw at me. Most of the scraps were either too small to do much damage, or already embedded in the ceiling.

I saw an air vent ahead of me. If I could make it inside, I’d be able to find Scout and Soldier. Or, at the very least, get out of this room without having to deal with the

I glanced down. The racoon had both of it’s paws on an entire shelf, looking at me like a madman. Surely it wasn’t going to..?

It did. The beast’s muscles rippled underneath its fur as it twisted its body in preparation. Then, using every last fiber of its being, It lobbed the entire shelf (as well as whatever scraps were attached) at me.

I couldn’t hope to dodge. It’s sheer width ensured that it would hit me head-on, and it’s weight and speed ensuring it would hurt. I tried to move out of the way, but it ended up colliding into me. Something hit the back of my head, probably a shelf. I could feel myself losing grip on both the ceiling and consciousness. Everything went black.


	4. Gift Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally figures out the prefect gift for Sniper...hopefully

Opened my eyes, dazed. My head was spinning, and my vision wasn’t working right. Dim and muddled colors filled my field of view. I tried to move, only to be pushed back by a dull, oppressive soreness all over my body.

I shook my head, trying to uncloud my head. I appeared to be laying on top of whatever remained of the shelf that was thrown at me, along with a few stray ceiling tiles. I could hear movements nearby, but I couldn’t quite process what it could be.

I tried moving again, wincing as more pain throbbed through me. I managed to sit up, bruising debris off of me. Nothing seemed broken, but I definitely had some bruising. Oddly, I haven’t seen the raccoon in a while-

I was pinned to the ground. The raccoon loomed over me, snarling and drooling. It’s claws dug into my arms and drool dripped onto my face. It’s breath smells rancid.

I froze, breath catching in my throat. I need to find a way out of here, now. I searched around the room, finding nothing aside from my revolver, which was too far away for me to reach. I was trapped.

The raccoon reared back, opening it’s maw. I braced myself, clenching my jaw. There was no way this wouldn’t be painful.

An explosion interrupted the beast, who turned to see where it had come from. A hole was where the door used to be. Soldier had blown open the door using a rusty, dirt-covered rocket launcher they had found somehow.

“HELLO SPY!” Soldier yelled, waving at me.

“... ‘Ello!” I said, relieved that they were back.

“Hey Spy!” Scout said. “Ya think the explosion will hurt it?”

“YES!” Soldier said, aiming again.

He fired again, with a rocket hitting the side of the giant raccoon’s face. It yelped, stumbling off of me. I scrambled to my feet. The racoon regained its composure, snarled, and then lunged at the duo, now thoroughly enraged. Scout managed to dodge by rolling out to the side, while Soldier stood his ground and shot at it again. He missed.

“DAMMIT!” Soldier yelled, getting slammed into the wall by the raccoon.

Scout ran over to me, kneeling on top of a pile of scrap next to me.

“Ow.” He said. “Ya ‘aight?” 

“Yes, thank you.” I said.

Scout grabbed my hand and helped me to my feet. I brushed the dirt and fur off of myself. Thankfully, my earlier assessment was right; I didn’t have any major injuries, just some minor bruises. My suit was torn on the sleeves though, which was unfortunate.

We watched Soldier fight the raccoon. He was doing better than last time, avoiding getting grabbed or cornered while he returned fire, matching the raccoon’s snarls with his own war cries and hollers.

“So… wanna go get some grub?” Scout asked,pulling out his scattershot.

“... Yes.” I responded, grabbing my revolver from the floor. “Although we should probably help Soldier“

“Ya sure we have to?”

Soldier had somehow managed to climb onto the back of the racoon. He seemed like he was having fun, although he couldn't really do much from there other than shout insults. It made me… uncomfortable for some reason. A twang of anxiety hit my throat. There is no way this would end well.

“... Yes.” I said, taking aim at the raccoon’s head.

Scout nodded and ran over to the raccoon, aiming and firing his scattershot and hitting the creature’s leg. It snarled, twisting around and aiming to bite Scout. It missed, thankfully, and scout took a few steps back to fire again, strafing the beast from the side. I went around to the back, where Soldier had pulled out his shovel and was trying to hit the raccoon’s head with it. He was having little success in his current attempts.

I fired my own shot, hitting the beast in the leg. It stumbled, allowing Soldier to get a better grip on the raccoon’s fur. He raised his shovel. I stepped back.

A crack and then yelp was heard. Soldier had managed to wedge his shovel into the back of the raccoon’s skull. It stood for a moment, then fell over. Soldier hopped off, although he looked a bit somber.

“Is it dead?” Scout asked, nudging the raccoon with his foot.

“It seems to be.” I said, walking over to Soldier.

Soldier was standing in front of the raccoon, frowning. I wasn’t sure if he was upset the fight ended so quickly, or that he wouldn’t be able to take the raccoon home.

“HE WAS A GOOD FIGHTER.” Soldier said as quietly as his voice could go.

“He tried to kill us!” Scout said, not nearly as sympathetic it seemed.

“EVERYTHING TRIES TO KILL US!”

“Well… not everything! Miss Pauling doesn’t!”

They continued to bicker. I put my hand on Soldier’s shoulder, trying to comfort him a little bit, as well as end the argument before it gave me a headache.

“Come on Soldier.” I said. “Let’s let him rest. He’s had an… eventful life. Full of battles I’m sure.”

“HEROIC BATTLES?” Soldier asked, perking up.

“Most likely. Besides, he wouldn’t have fit in Engineer’s truck anyway.”

Soldier seemed to like that answer. We left the storage area through the hole they had made in the wall. Something still bugged me though.

“... How on earth did you guys manage to get a rocket launcher anyway?” I asked

“Soldier dug it up from the front.” Scout said. “I think he buries stuff everywhere he goes, if I’m bein’ honest.”

That made sense, although I’m not sure why Soldier buried things so far from the base. Didn’t matter though. We still have to find a gift for Sniper, and we were starting to run out of time, if my watch is correct.

“Hey look!” Scout said. “They got a hotdog stand!”

He ran up to a hot dog stand stationed near the food court, grinning the entire time. Soldier followed just as eagerly, while I followed at my own pace.

“You guys want somethin’? I think I have enough for the all of us!”

“I WANT ONE WITH RELISH!” Soldier boomed.

“Just… mustard for me, please.” I said.

Scout handed me a hotdog with mustard on it, and I took a bite. It tasted okay, waterlogged and bland, but okay. It tasted better than the tuna sandwich from the gas station at least. My stomach still hasn’t quite recovered from that little... adventure. I think even Pyro’s burnt breakfasts were better than that tuna salad.

We sat on a nearby bench in the food court. Soldier and Scout sat next to each other, stuffing their faces with food. I took another bite out of my hotdog. Despite walking around the entire mall, I haven't seen a pet shop, or really even anything that would make a good gift. I’m not sure why I was so surprised, given the state of the mall, but I still feel like I’ve failed somehow. I suppose if we go somewhere else we might be able to find a suitable gift, but we don’t have enough time.

“When you two ran off earlier, did you happen to find the pet store?” I asked.

Scout gave Soldier a glare, chewing on the end of his hotdog aggressively.

“No, because somebody got distracted by a stupid mysterious door.” Scout grumbled.

“IT WAS AN IMPORTANT DOOR!” Soldier argued, finishing his hotdog.

Scout rolled his eyes. I continued eating. They didn’t see any pet shop either. We might have to settle for something else. Might be for the better.

“Did you see anything worthwhile?” I asked, hoping to salvage our mission.

They exchanged looks, then grinned.

“Well we did-” Scout said, being cut off.

“DON’T TELL HIM!” Soldier yelled.

“-But you’ll havta find out later!”

I was concerned. Their last “surprise” nearly ended up with me being crushed by scrap metal. I really hope it didn’t involve any more raccoons.

“...Oh no…” I said, wincing.

“It ain’t gonna be like the raccoon! We promise!”

“Is it a surprise for Sniper?”

“Uh... no. It’s for someone else. Sorry.”

“IT’S FOR MISS PAULING!” Soldier yelled.

He was lying, but not really in an insidious way. More of an… honest way? I wasn’t sure how to describe it. It didn’t matter though.

“Yea! We can go with that!” Scout grinned.

I leaned back into the bench, sighing. They were hiding something from me, but I don’t think they were hiding anything dangerous. I hope.

After some more walking around, we found nothing. Out of the dozens of shops in the mall, we found nothing. I was annoyed to say the least.

We’re out of time now. There’s been nothing in this entire mall that would make a good gift. Not for Sniper, not for anything.

We headed back to the truck, empty-handed. We passed by a hazmat team dealing with the mutant raccoon on our way out. They seemed just as surprised as we were when we found it.

Soldier had re-buried his rocket launcher in some nearby shrubs once we got outside, and Scout had stolen a can of Bonk! When he passed by the hotdog stand again. We all got into the truck, with Scout riding shotgun again.

“Ya want some?” Scout said, offering a can.

The beverage had an… acidic, chemical smell to it. It burned the inside of my nose and smelled like it would corrode my insides if I drank it.

“... no, no thank you.” I said.

We drove in silence for a little while, sharing a mutual feeling of disappointment. Scout must’ve seen the look on my face.

“... Sorry for not findin’ anythin’” Scout muttered, looking guilty.

“I AM SORRY ALSO!” Soldier yelled from the back.

“It’s...alright.” I said. “The mall didn’t have much anyway.”

They still seemed a tad disappointed with themselves. We all sat relative silence, with Scout drinking his can of Bonk!, and then pulling out another. Soldier was scratching his chin.

Perhaps I have something in my room I could give to Sniper? Would he like his own invis-watch? It would help him in combat, although I think there are restrictions to what we are able to use during the battles. My knives are a bit too small for his liking, and he probably wouldn’t like a mask…

Then I remembered something, something I found wedges between the floorboards in my room. Something that, at the very least, would be… impactful. But it was a gamble.

“...I got it.” I mumbled to myself.

“Ya got what?” Scout said, peeking up.

Soldier perked up as well, pausing from his inspection of something in his shirt.

“The old spy’s disguise kit.” I said.

“Wait ya have it? Where’d ya find it?!” Scout asked, surprised.

“I found it wedged between the floorboards in my room. Sniper might like it…”

“He would!”

“Are you… certain?”

“Yea!”

I thought for a moment. Scout could be wrong. Truthfully, it could be a terrible gift, opening a very fresh wound that still hasn’t quite healed. Reminding him of a friend he had just failed to save…

I frowned. We had both failed to save him. Giving him the disguise kit would just put a sour taste in his mouth. Maybe I should just burn it and save everyone the trouble.

On the other hand, it could also give him a sliver of closure. It could be a memento of sorts. A nice sort of reminder of the good times they probably had together. Like the time they fought off a bread monster (although I think Demo was just telling me that so he didn’t have to teach me how to use the teleporters)...

Either way, It would be wrong to withhold this sort of thing from Sniper. While It may just make him more upset, I couldn’t just… throw it away…  
“Alright.” I finally said. “I’ll give this to him later on.”

“Whoo!” Scout said, pumping his fist into the air and hitting the top of the car. “Ow…”

“WE SUCCEEDED!” Soldier yelled.

It was settled. This is the gift I will give him once we get home, once everyone else is in their rooms. Hopefully it is... acceptable.


	5. Gift Recives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spy finally gives his gift to Sniper

It was early evening when we got back, with the stars just beginning to appear on the edges of the sunset. Everyone else was either in their rooms relaxing or drinking in the kitchen. The evening was calm and silent, or at least, as calm and silent as it can possibly be with the loudest members of the team having a drinking contest. 

Scout and Soldier had offered to come with me, but I told them no. I wasn’t sure how Sniper would react (I didn’t want to start a fight after all), and it also gave me some semblance of peace and quiet. Peace, at least until I realized I still had to actually give Sniper his gift.

I walked towards his camper. Admittedly, I was feeling a lot of dread as I got closer. Sniper is a very patient man, but he still had a temper. He was sort of like a difficult to light fuse in that way, and I'd rather not get caught in the explosion.

I held the wrapped gift behind me. Scout and Soldier wanted to help wrap the gift. They did… poorly, but their heart was in it. Not sure where they got the wrapping paper though.

I paused at his door, fist raised and preparing to knock. I tapped my foot on the ground. Should I wait? Should I just wait until tomorrow?

No. Waiting won’t do anything. It would just delay the inevitable, and delay his (possible) improvement in performance. Or freefall, depending on how he took the gift. I knocked on the door softly. No response.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Was he already asleep? Drunk? Was he just ignoring me? Was he simply not here? I’m not sure where else he would be…

I knocked again, louder this time. This time there was noticeable movement inside, the camper shaking on it’s suspensions. I heard grumbling from inside.

“Bloody hell…” Sniper growled from inside. “I swear to God if it’s Soldier askn’ me why I sucked on the battlefield yester-”

He swung open the door roughly, clearly aggravated. For a split second he was about to yell something at me before he realized who it was. He raised his eyebrows, then furrowed them, getting over the shock of seeing me here.

“What do ya want Spy?” Sniper grumbled. “Better be important. I was tryn’ to fall asleep.”

He looked exhausted. The dark circles under his eyes could be mistaken for a black eye to someone who’s never had one. I took a step back. Maybe this wasn’t a good time to talk to him.

“Well… I’ve noticed you’ve been… struggling during battle recently.” I said as gently as I could.

Very poor choice of words. He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Oh ya have now?” He growled. “Ya come to rag on me now too?”

He was angry, angry and sleep deprived, which is not a good combination. I took a step back. This was a bad idea. I should have waited until tomorrow when he wasn’t this tired. I took another step back in case I needed to cloak and flee.

“No! No, not at all.” I said, revealing the gift I had. “I just wanted to give you something to… improve your mood.”

I offered the gift. He raised an eyebrow, taking the box from my hands surprisingly gently, given his currant disposition.

“What’d ya get me?” He asked, opening the box. He still looked a bit

“Something I found in the floorboards.” I said. “Scout, Soldier and I were going to get you a dog or something of that sort, but it turns out the mall had nothing. Nothing, aside from a giant rac- Sniper?”

He hadn’t been listening. The box the disguise kit was in was laying, discarded, at his feet. He was staring at the gift in complete surprise. He held it in his hands like it was made of thin glass, like a child would hold a butterfly. 

“Sniper are you okay?” I asked, concerned.

He was shaking a bit, still in disbelief. He closed his hand slowly around the disguise kit, forming a tight, protective fist. He looked up at me, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape. He strengthened a bit, taking a step forward. I took a step back, preparing to cloak. I couldn’t read his face. Was he sad? Angry? Did he even know? Did I want to be around to find out?”

Why am I so bad at reading faces?! I’m a spy for crying out loud. I should be able to figure this out! But no, I can’t! He was just staring at me in shock and surprise. I’ve probably ruined this just like I ruin every single battle I’m in.

“Sniper, I’m sorry if you don’t like It. I understand it may have been a bit insensitive-”

He suddenly hugged me, wrapping his lanky arms around me tightly, like he was afraid I was going to leave. He was still trembling, but it was definitely a hug he was giving me. A warm, friendly hug was not what I expected him to do. I expected him to attack me, or to perhaps just slam the door in my face. Maybe even just give me a handshake if I was feeling optimistic, but a hug? That was a pleasant surprise.

I hugged back reluctantly, still not entirely trusting that he wouldn’t plant a kukri in my back. No, he’s not… that sort of person. He’d just punch me in the jaw if he was angry. Wait is he… crying? I couldn’t tell.

“Thanks mate… “ He said, sounding a bit choked up. “Seriously, thank you…”

“You’re welcome, Sniper.” I said, relief washing over me.

Eventually he let go, taking a step back. He had a grin on his exhausted face, and still looked surprised at the whole event. He was still clinging onto the disguise kit like it was a precious artifact. I suppose to him, it was. He wiped his face with the back of his hand.

“Ya found it in the floorboards?” He said, opening it. Most of the contents inside seemed okay, if a bit jostled around.

“Yes.” I said. “I was planning on figuring out how to use it, but I'm no good at disguises.”

“Really? Ya seem sneaky enough.”

“I am very bad at imitating people. At least, specific people.”

“Ah.”

We stood in silence for a while, listening to the drunks in the kitchen urge each other to do stupider and stupider things, one of which involving skewers. Medic is going to be a very happy man tomorrow.

“Ya wanna go join them?” Sniper asked, sticking the disguise kit in his pocket carefully.

“No.” I said. “I’m not a huge fan of drinking.”

One of the windows was pushed open. Scout stuck his head out and proceeded to empty out the contents of his stomach onto the side of the building. He took a few breaths, then looked up. He grinned, giving me a drunken thumbs-up of encouragement. I returned it, not really sure how else to respond to that. Scout’s grin widened and he closed the window, shouting something incoherent to the other members. They all cheered in response.

“... I can see why.” Sniper said, looking disgusted.

I just nodded, looking disgusted myself. I yawned, suddenly feeling tired.

“Ya headn’ to bed then?” Sniper asked, looking exhausted himself.

“Yes.” I said. “Although I might have to sneak in through a window… “

“Alright. G’night mate.”

“Goodnight.”

He turned around, then stopped.

“And, uh… thanks mate. I mean it.”

I nodded in response. He went back into the camper, and I was alone in the night once more. I slipped back towards the base, cloaking in case anyone saw me through a window. The last thing I wanted was to be roped into whatever a bunch of drunks thought would be fun to do. 

Once I had found my room, I grabbed onto the ledge and pulled myself up, opening and closing the window silently. I closed the blinds and uncloaked, relaxing a bit now that I was inside and somewhat safe. I took off my clothing (aside from my mask), tossing them into a hamper near the door and putting on nightwear.

I sat on my bed, which creaked under my weight. I shuddered, with an icy cold dread climbing it’s way up my back. I had forgotten about the bed still being damaged. I really need to order a new one.

Then I noticed a package. It was bent, having been roughly handled by whoever put it there. The poorly wrapped box had dents and a few small tears and kinks in the cheap cardboard. I poked it with my finger, trying to figure out if it was a bomb or some other trap.

There was a note on top, but whoever had written it was illiterate. Scribbles and vague letters were all I could decipher. There was one clear phrase however, one that had been clearly written by someone slightly more literate: “ Fom Sodier + Scut.”

The other scribbles on the note had been other attempts to spell the words. I suppose they eventually settled on… that. It was obviously supposed to say “From Soldier + Scout” unless there was some sort of code I was missing.

Seeing their names attached to the box removed most of the anxiety I had about opening the box, although I still didn’t want to find a raccoon in here. There didn’t seem to be any hissing noises coming from the package, at least.

I opened it. Inside was the hat I had seen at the mall. It was bent now, and the yellow felt it was made of was a lot… duller than I remember it being, but it was still a very fine hat.

A warm feeling bloomed in my chest as I smiled, replacing the feeling of anxiety I had earlier. I’ll admit, I was touched by the gesture of kindness from the two. I hadn't expected them to care much about me, let alone get me a gift.

I put the hat on the rack next to my rain hat. It looked fairly nice there, and made the room feel ever so slightly less barren and empty.

I got into bed, pulling the covers over myself. For once I felt comfortable. At least, as comfortable as I could feel at night. I got into a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
